Please pardon my ignorace, especially about "keep it in neutral and let it run down until the car shut off". Normally when I switch the Camry on, I hear a beep after a second or so and then after a few more seconds, the engine starts for the warmup cycle (regardless of battery SoC). Since the battery was full from the overnight charge, I thought I shouldn't let the engine start, so as soon as I switched on the car and heard the beep, I switched the gear to N (which prevented the engine from coming on) and then started the A/C, etc., for the discharge test. I then terminated the HA battery check at 40% SoC and then switched the gear to Park and as soon as I did that the engine came on to bring the battery back to 50% SoC. Should I have switched off the car, while still in N? The engine won't come on as long as I am in "N". If you can explain "keep it in neutral and let it run down until the car shut off" in the Camry context, I would be grateful. If I have it in Neutral (without the Engine on), will the car shut off if the HV battery SoC falls to some level below 40% SoC?

Thanks.

 

Also, since I messed up the discharge, would you recommend terminating the bulb discharge and hooking the charger back up for 4 hrs?

 

Power on
Allow engine to start
Immediately shift to N (can't charge in N, so spark for engine run becomes a 12V load powered by the HV battery)
Initiate discharge test
Ignore "shift out of N" warning
A/C compressor should cycle off and blow warm
discharge until error codes, engine shut off or fast idle on engine (may hear HV battery relay click open simultaneously)

IIRC, you get the "shift out of N" warning somewhere around 25% SoC. It will usually go to 0% before it trips the relay and disconnects the batter.

 

No. That would be completely counterproductive. Just continue with discharge.

 

Thanks, Mr. Keith. So, essentially, I would switch off the car at 0% SoC? Just wanted to understand better.

 

No. You switch off the car when it disconnects the hybrid battery from the system, i.e., when the car refuses to discharge the HV battery anymore - it ends the test for you. This generally occurs well after 0% is attained.

 

Thanks for the explanation, Mr. Keith. I did the discharge to 163V (65W bulbs all the way) and then charged for 4 hours, which seemed to take the SoC to ~50% because when I switched the car on, I saw 3 bars and the engine came on but shut down after the routine warm-up. I am going to do start with some light driving to 60% SoC and then drive normally and then report back with a HA test report.

Also, I am curious as to why you didn't recommend a balancing 24-hour charge this time after the discharge.

 

 

Thanks, Mr. Keith.

 

In terms of providing proof that the battery bought from Toyota is still the same one in case Toyota needs to be approached for a warranty claim, should one request the Parts guy note the module serial numbers on the invoice? Also, I am wondering what the best way to test the battery at the Parts counter is and if the battery comes in a sealed box from Toyota with the serial number and module numbers printed somewhere on the battery? Thanks.